I’m still working on my Partnership to Success
journey and I have to admit, I’ve been having some
self-doubt creeping in on me from time to time.

We all know it’s hard enough working against the
clock when you’re trying hard to build your own
successful business online. Then we throw in not a
pinch but a whole truck load of self-doubt and
then it’s scary how crippling it can be, it can
bring your productivity to a complete halt.

I keep thinking I must be the only one that has
this issue but the more I researched and read
about successful people, I found that everyone
suffers from some form of self-doubt. Those
successful men and women didn’t conquer and ooze
sheer confidence on a daily basis, they worked
hard and learned how to just plow through it.

I found that all the successful men and women out
there work in spite of self-doubt. Don’t get me
wrong it’s not an overnight thing; it comes with
lots of practice.

The good news is that eventually the self-doubt
dwindles from a loud, screaming roar in your mind
to a faint whisper that you can easily tune out.

BECOME AWARE OF YOUR SELF-DOUBT

So, the first step is to become aware of your
self-doubt. I know you’re thinking, I’m well aware
of this, thank you very much. But let me ask you,
is that only when you’re looking at the big
picture of how you feel that you haven’t succeeded
yet?

Are you aware of the exact moment when self-doubt
is creeping in to undermine your authority and
tell you that you’re not good enough to accomplish
your goals? You get mesmerized by the false
message.

Your self-doubt mindset doesn’t really have any
bad intentions. You’re thinking that you’re trying
to sabotage yourself, but in reality you’re trying
to protect yourself. Unfortunately it backfires,
which leaves you hopeless and hesitant, maybe
scared, to go forward with your plans.

As if that isn’t bad enough, what makes it worse
is how stress floods your body with the cortisol
hormone whenever self-doubt creeps in; your mind
is flooded with horrible emotions like panic and
guilt.

This only makes things worst because it’s like
pouring salt on a wide open wound. You not only
managed to talk yourself out of being productive,
but now you’re ridiculing yourself for making that
move or decision in the first place.

So how can we solve this problem? The best and
only way is to face it head on and get out from
under the thumb of a self-sabotaging mindset.

I know, easier said than done.

The important thing to remember is that a book
cannot do this for you. Neither can a calming
scented candle or some kind of essential oil.
While they smell nice, it has to come within. I
have some tools that you can use to help you
conquer it if you’re willing to try.

I’m the best when it comes to self-doubt and
self-sabotaging, so I want to share with you what
works for me.

TRUTH IN THE MESSAGE

As much as you hate to admit it, the fact is that
sometimes your self-doubt is right. Sometimes,
when you’re gut instincts that you not do
something, it’s a warning that you should heed,
it’s not just your mind playing tricks on you.

However, there is a difference. For example, if
your mind is telling you that you shouldn’t try to
create something because your design stinks, it’s
actually telling you that you’d save time and
frustration if you outsourced this part of the
product that you’re creating.

You have to look at the big picture now and think
like a business owner. Let’s say you analyze other
designs and feel that yours can compete, then by
all means go for it. However, if your skills fall
a little short, don’t be afraid to ask people for
their honest opinion, than you should listen to
your self-doubt and get some help.

There is a difference though. If you notice that
your mind is constantly telling you that you’re
not enough of an expert, you’re appearance isn’t
good enough, you’re not as smart as the others,
you’re too shy, or too much of a newbie to do
something. That’s when it’s probably a sign that
there’s no truth to it.

When I first started Partnership to Success, my
biggest problem was that in this program you have
to work on a blog. I was always thinking why would
anyone want to read what I have to say? What if
there’s better blogs out there than mine. While I
know there is, mine is just as good and will only
get better.

This issue with self-doubt can stem from other
areas of your life where you may have felt
inadequate or someone may have made you feel
inadequate. It could be from a bad childhood or
relationship, for example. Maybe you had a boss
that made your life completely miserable by
putting down your efforts, or in my case throwing
papers in my face when he wasn’t happy, which was
almost always.

Just because my boss had an issue with himself,
that doesn’t mean it should affect me. Just
because you may have had a bad childhood or
relationship, that doesn’t mean it’s true. I was
in a relationship where I was constantly put down,
only to realize one day that he was doing it to
make himself feel better, I was perfectly fine.

Who remembers Stuart Smalley from SNL? I say this
all the time

You have to decide what is true for you, you have
to take back that power and make a decision on
what’s going to happen from this point going
forward.

So this is where it gets really scary. When you’re
new to being an entrepreneur, there’s a lot to
learn. You can tell yourself that you’re not good
enough, you’re not enough of an expert to lead a
niche yet, but don’t let your self-doubt mind do
that to you. The truth is people love seeing a
person’s journey from start to finish; you’ll
definitely have people following you even though
you’re someone who isn’t an expert just yet.

I’m sure you’re wondering why that would be. Well
it’s because it’s comfortable to them. They know
that you’re on the same level as them and that
you’re leading the way. They don’t have to be
intimidated by the person they are following. They
will form a stronger bond because you’re in their
shoes and people appreciate you being vulnerable
and putting yourself out there. Also, people will
tend to think, if she can do it, so can I.

However, your silly mind will be telling you
simply that ‘No, you can’t go into that niche
because so many other, better, more competent and
more successful people are niche leaders.’ It’s a
lie; you are just as good as they are.

PROVE YOURSELF WRONG

This is where the fun begins; this is where you
prove yourself wrong. It’s important to remember
nobody can tell you that you’re not good enough or
smart enough or capable enough to accomplish
everything you want to accomplish. It’s up to you
and only you because you’re the only one that will
be effective at influencing yourself.

The best thing to do from this point going forward
is to get sick of yourself. I know, you’re
wondering what does that mean. What I mean is, get
sick of your excuses, get sick and tired of the
whining and doubts. Get sick and tired when you
start complaining, get angry. Nobody likes a
whiner and complainer.

It’ll be really refreshing when you get to the
point where you’ll no longer put up with your own
excuses. Tell your mindset that you’re in control
of your destination now and not the self-doubt
mindset.

Best way to do this is every single morning when
you wake up, take some type of action, and prove
yourself wrong. Prove to that mindset of yours
that what it’s saying is all wrong. If for example
your mindset is telling you that you cannot come
up with a good enough domain name, sit down and
brainstorm until you do. Show your mindset who’s
the boss.

This is true of every element of your success.
It’s easy to just tell yourself you’re too tired
to work, or that you don’t feel well, do something
anyway. Even if it’s a little something, even if
it’s something that you spent 5 minutes on, you
still did something. Even when you’re eyes want to
close or you’ll feeling a little bit under the
weather, do something anyway to show yourself that
you are more than capable of doing this.

Over time, whenever your mindset wants to take
over and tries declaring that you’re incapable of
being productive in that moment, you’ll find that
you won’t even have to think about it. You’ll just
simply sit down and get to work, that little
annoying voice won’t even try to go there again.

If you keep doing this, it will become routine for
you to be productive. Many successful
entrepreneurs work 365 days a year. I know that
sounds grueling but truthfully they might just pop
in and check emails or something minor and then
enjoy the rest of their day. Not to mention, you
are more excited to work on something that is
yours and not for someone else.

They’ve created a habit of showing up and being
productive every single day, even if it’s for a
short time and it shows in their earnings reports.
We all know that effort equals monetary rewards;
when you stall out, you get nowhere fast.

What you need to do is take each and every lie you
tell yourself, like the ones where you tell
yourself that you don’t have time, you don’t have
money, you don’t have enough knowledge to lead
your niche, and so on, and prove them all wrong,
one by one.

You don’t have to achieve all your goals of
reaching the top of your success in one week or
even a month, all you have to do is just make some
progress through being productive. When a sliver
of self-doubt shows up, immediately tell yourself
“I’ll show you!”

This works great for me because ever since I was a
child every time someone told me I couldn’t do
something, I would prove them wrong. I never liked
being told what I can and cannot do. If I had to
get something done, it would be on my timeline,
not anyone else’s.

Every day just show up and put in the hours,
you’ll feel stronger and stronger, more capable
and will accomplish so much more.

PRODUCTIVITY HABITS

So let’s talk about improving productivity habits.
Here are the steps to take to prove that you have
it in you to be productive, it really just boils
down to changing your habits. For example, how
much time do you spend going down the rabbit hole
online? Or how many more reality shows are you
going to try to catch up on?

Do you surf online until you’ve reached the end of
the Internet? I’ve been there before; I’ve reached
the end of the Internet. How about binging and
chilling with Netflix or scrolling through your
busy Facebook news feed to see what silly
challenges people are up to now and let’s not
forget the cat videos.

You’re telling yourself that you don’t have time
to build a business but is there anything else you
could do to sneak in some work time? Even if let’s
say you are working two jobs, your day is truly
packed solid with your regular job, family
activities, and more, you should still sneak some
work in there.

Try to set aside 20-30 minutes a day for
brainstorming. Write down everything that comes to
your mind, most of them will be terrible but there
will definitely be some gems in there. In today’s
day and age you can use your smartphone or smart
device to quickly make a note of an idea that you
just had.

I’ve heard of people putting a notebook and pen on
their nightstand because they claim that they’re
best ideas and thoughts come to them in the middle
of the night. So they use the notebook to write
down everything that comes to mind in the middle
of the night or write them down first thing in the
morning when they get up.

E.B. White said “A writer who waits for ideal
conditions under which to work will die without
putting a word on paper.”

Haruki Murakami said “The repetition itself
becomes the important thing.” He has an exact
routine every single day. He suggests repeating
the routine six months to a year, which of course
requires a good amount of mental and physical
strength.

A lot of the great writers do their writing or
brainstorming first thing in the morning. They
work on their goals before the rest of their day
gets out of control with life. This way you don’t
have to worry about fitting it in amongst your
other daily responsibilities and activities, they
are doing the most important thing first thing in
the morning; even if that means having to get up
earlier or going to bed earlier.

The one habit you can try to implement is to get
used to working at about the same time every day.
If you’ve got a schedule that varies, then commit
to spending a certain amount of time per day on
your business.

If you are the type that has a lot of appointments
on your calendar and to do lists, put an
appointment on your calendar for an hour or two
that is spent on your business things. Make sure
you keep your appointment just like you keep your
other appointments. If you cancel your
appointment, fine yourself, something like $20 or
so, or be accountable to someone that you wouldn’t
want to tell that you missed your appointment.

Just remember, take baby steps. The important
thing is that you start, even if it’s with 15
minutes, or writing just a half page, or learning
something new for 10 minutes, whatever the case
may be, seize the opportunity.

There is no reason to go from stalled, from doing
nothing to suddenly working 5-10 hours on your
business, to go to be the most productive person
on the planet in mere seconds. All that is
important is that you get something done.

Make sure you make it a point to celebrate every
single success that you’ve accomplished. Give
yourself a pat on the back when you get something
done every day for a week or you learned something
new, no matter how simple or difficult. Give
yourself props for what you’ve accomplished.

The most important thing is that you replace your
entire negative self-talk that comes from
self-doubt with positive kudos for each and every
small step you took by being productive with your
business.

Here’s the thing, no one else is going to cheer
you on the same way that you can cheer yourself
on. You know that as an online entrepreneur,
you’re pretty much on your own in your business;
you’re in charge, which means nobody will be
patting you on the back saying what a good job you
did. The only person that can do that is you.

If you fail to show up and at least try, you will
not be able to truthfully tell yourself that you
did a great job because the truth will be that you
let fear and hesitation ruin your productivity and
you’ll know it.

WORK ON SELF HELP

What you want to do is spend more time working
than on self-help. You may be the kind of person
that is totally set and committed on learning how
to change but then never actually follow through
with it.

Some people are addicted to finding out why they
do the things that they do, they feel that
something must be wrong with them. They then
invest time and money to try to uncover it. So
when the answers are revealed, they go out in
search of more answers.

For example, you may be a person that is addicted
to studying time management tips. This is because
your mind continues to rule and feed you with the
lies that you don’t have any time to work on your
business.

So you think the best way to solve this problem is
to keep reading and studying time management tips.
While doing this, it makes you feel better because
you’re working on the issue you feel you are
having problems with. The only problem is that
reading and actually doing something about it are
two very different things.

It’s great that your trying to change your mindset
to try to improve on what you feel needs to be
worked on, but then set aside all the learning and
actually dig in and put all those tips and tricks
that you’ve read about to actual work; which means
back away from the books and new shiny objects for
now.

Let’s turn off You Tube and the TED talks, let’s
turn off the television and let’s not go down the
Internet highway rabbit hole, let’s not ask people
how to change and let’s just do it.

For us, the work at home entrepreneurs, the very
best antidote to a defeated mind is to work. It
helps with developing a sense of pride in yourself
and your accomplishments. The good thing is that
it will generate no guilt, unlike procrastination
does.

It will also give you insight into what works and
what doesn’t work best for you. You’ll be able to
know what you feel comfortable with because you’ve
given each method a try.

Be careful because self-doubt is like poison, the
kind that keeps you from getting out of bed each
day. You have to pay close attention to what is
happening and make sure that you separate the lies
from the truths and then work around the lies like
it’s the plague.

The best way to do this is to check in with
yourself daily, maybe even several times a day if
you can. Combat your mindset and in no time at all
you’ll be soaring to new heights.

The most important thing to also remember is that
you’re not alone in this journey. Most marketers
also suffer from self-doubt from time to time,
even after they’ve become successful. They may
worry about their next product launch going off
without a hitch.

The thing is that every time you level up there
are fears and doubts to contend with. The main
thing is that they end up going forward anyway,
they don’t let their mind get in the way of their
self-doubt and this is why they see such huge
successes.

Always remember, that the future is whatever you
make of it, you have control over it, and it’s not
what your tricky mind tells you it has to be.

Let’s get out there and kick some self-doubt rear.

Do you have self-doubt creep in?

Let me know what you do when self-doubt creepsin, how do you handle things?

2 replies to "How Can You Be Productive When Self-Doubt Sneaks Up On You?"

You definitely show a lot of passion in your posts. All well thought out and filled with deep thought and a lot of research. I really enjoyed reading this post it had a lot of valuable content that I will be sure to consider the next time I have self-doubt.